'Waptia': Shrimp-Like Creature Identified In Canada

A 508-million-year-old shrimp-like fossil known as 'Waptia' was identified by researchers who found eggs in the creature's body, which contained preserved embryos. The fossil was discovered about a century ago in the famous Canadian Burgess Shale fossil deposit. Now, scientists from the University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique have uncovered new one of the oldest evidence of brood care in the fossil record.

"As the oldest direct evidence of a creature caring for its offspring, the discovery adds another piece to our understanding of brood care practices during the Cambrian Explosion, a period of rapid evolutionary development when most major animal groups appear in the fossil record," Jean-Bernard Caron, coauthor of the study and paleontologist, said a news release.

Waptia fieldensis is a primitive arthropod that belongs to a group of invertebrates, which includes lobster and crayfish. The creature had a two-part structure that covered the front segment of its body near the head, which is known as a bivalved carapace. The researchers believe that the carapace facilitated in the creature's brood care practices.

The researchers found clusters of eggs in five of the specimens and most of the eggs were found in the underside of the carapace. The specimens could have produced a maximum of 24 eggs.  

"This creature is expanding our perspective on the diversification of brood care in early arthropods," said Jean Vannier, coauthor of the study.

The study is shedding new light on the early evolution of brood care in arthropods and it examines a number of parental care methods among some of the earliest known arthropods. The findings of this study were published in the journal Current Biology.

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